A Little Carried Away
by zestycrouton
Summary: AU Oneshot. "Alright class, this is officially your discussion time. Feel free to ask any questions you want to, as long as they're appropriate, and have to do with history." If only teaching Hyrule's history was that simple...


**Hey guys. I know it's been a while since I last posted a story... a long, long while. But I figured: eh, what the heck? I'm bored. **

**Anyway, this was something that I wanted to use in another story, but I ended up taking it out and expounding a lot on the details, and here's the result. I hope you guys like it; I do. Also, for those who even remember my 'Hit List' story, I have good news. As you can see, I got a new computer, and work has continued. I'm actually almost done, and as soon as I finish I'll start posting again. But until such a time comes.... enjoy!  
**

**A Little Carried Away**

"So, class." Said Mr. Auru as he leaned casually against his desk and turned to face the awaiting group of students. "This is officially your discussion time; Midterms are next week and I need to be sure that you're all prepared. Feel free to ask any questions you want to… as long as they're appropriate," he sent a meaningful glance towards the few guys in the back row, "and have to do with history." He sent another meaningful glance towards Ruto.

Unsurprisingly, at least to Zelda, Shad's hand was the first and only in the air.

"Yes, Shad?" Auru asked, bemused. Mr. Auru was probably one of Zelda's favorite teachers at Hyrule High because he never got in your face, despite the fact that she loathed History. He was very calm and laid back sort of man; very nice, and incredibly passionate about Hyrule's history. Though he was getting on in age, he always seemed to be able to connect to his students in such a way that he was easily one of the most popular teachers in the school.

"Um, well, I had a question pertaining to the Age of the Hero of Winds." Shad replied. Shad Skye was a very quiet boy who shied away from most people. He was also something of a nerd, boasting an enormous brain and a mother who seemed to believe that comb-over's were somehow still in style. Shad was one of Mr. Auru's favorite students because he shared his passion for history.

"Yes?" Mr. Auru prompted gently.

"Well, you said that during this time all of Hyrule was covered in water… I don't understand how that could be."

Auru nodded curtly and walked around his cluttered makeshift podium to address Shad more closely, which forced Zelda to hastily elbow her best friend, Malon, who was sneakily texting someone in the seat beside her.

"Well, if you remember back to a few weeks ago when we were studying the Hero of Time, you'd remember that after defeating the dark one, the Hero left Hyrule behind."

Zelda felt herself sit up a little straighter and she drew her mind out of its blank reverie. Despite her negative outlook on the class subject, The Hero of Time was one of her favorite stories.

Shad shook his head and said, "Wait, why did the Hero leave again? I mean, he had just saved Hyrule from a terrible fate; certainly he would have been honored and revered for the rest of his life, probably elevated in stature given that time period's adopted feudal system. Instead, he left his country behind to be tormented by the Dark One all over again."

Auru gave a sad sigh and said, "Well, let's try not to judge the Hero too harshly here, guys. Look at things from his point of view. He left behind everything and everyone he knew as a child, all of his friends, in order to do what the Royal Family asked of him. Then, he ends up loosing seven years of his life, only to awaken to find all of Hyrule a mess, his friends had either been killed or had forgotten about him, and his only hope, the Princess, was in hiding. He then goes off, braving terrible dangers and threats to rescue his friends and the Princess with absolutely no help beside an enigmatic Sheikah warrior and a sacred sword. And, when he finally manages to defeat the Dark One and imprison him in the Sacred Realm, the Princess sends him back to his childhood. Yet again, everyone forgets who he is, and to top it all off, he's banned from his home because he's of Hylian decent and not Kokiri."

"So… he left because he was lonely?" Kafei Dotour deadpanned from the seat behind her. Link Forrester, on Kafei's right, let out a snort of laughter that inadvertently made Zelda feel all warm and tingly inside.

"He wasn't alone!" cut in a pretty tomboy to Shad's left, Zelda thought her name was Ashei. "He still had the Princess! Why'd he leave her then?"

Auru chuckled. "Well, I imagine that the Hero wasn't too happy with the Princess at the time. She had basically rewarded his rescue of her and her kingdom by ruining his life. I guess the Hero pretty much hated her, and left Hyrule in order to escape her. Which leads into Shad's question about-"

"Whoa, wait, that's all wrong!" Zelda said before realizing that she was speaking out loud.

Auru gave her a surprised look. "It's wrong? What's wrong?"

"Well, the Hero couldn't have hated the Princess. They were in love." Zelda said softly, feeling her face go red.

Auru stared at her blankly. "In love?"

Zelda quickly realized that the entire class was looking at her, and she felt her face go even redder. "Well, yeah." She said, feeling immensely foolish. "Of course, look at all he did for her. No guy would risk his life if there wasn't a girl involved."

Auru nodded thoughtfully. "So, you believe that the Hero's actions were motivated by his deep love for the Princess." Zelda nodded.

"…His deep love for the Princess who ruined his life and drove him to flee the country?"

Zelda shook her head vigorously and said; "I think that the Princess sent him back in time because she wanted to give him his life back. I think she felt awful for what she put him through and was trying to pay him back somehow."

It was Auru's turn to shake his head. "If that were true, then when the Hero came to see her before leaving, she would have convinced him to stay."

Zelda faltered, but to her surprise someone came to her rescue. "Excuse me, Mr. Auru, but you're wrong."

Auru looked up at Shad with surprise and gestured for him to expound.

"You said that the Princess sent the Hero back to his childhood. That is both true and misleading."

Auru blinked and Zelda turned around to give Shad a confused look. "The Princess did send the Hero back," Shad said slowly, "but not just him. She sent the entire world back those seven years. I think that Zelda is right, that they were in love," he glanced at Zelda, "and that the Princess was sacrificing both her feelings and the feelings of her Hero for the good of the country."

Auru leaned back against the desk with a thoughtful look. "Well, in that case," he said, "Why didn't they stay together when he came to see her?"

"Maybe the Hero didn't know why she had reversed time." Said Link suddenly, speaking up for the first time. "Maybe he was pissed, like you said. Or maybe he had another reason for leaving."

"Yeah, maybe he was tired of stuck up, fancy pants nobles and made off with some hot peasant chick." Chuckled Kafei.

"Actually, though there's little to support it, I've read that children of the Kokiri, where the Hero grew up, had fairy friends. Maybe when he was banned from the forests, the fairy left him, and he went to find it." Cut it Shad.

Ashei said incredulously, "He left behind the love of his life to chase a fairy?"

Shad gave her a longsuffering look. "He left his love to find his _friend_."

"And then what? Why didn't he ever come back?" Zelda turned her head and was surprised to see that the voice belonged to her best friend, Malon.

"I don't…know..." Shad turned his head to address Malon and his voice faded away. He was apparently stunned to find that he was having a conversation with three different females. His face turned as red as his hair as he sunk lower into his chair and fixed his eyes on the desktop.

"Actually," said Mr. Auru with an excited smile towards Malon; it was rare that this many students participated in classroom discussions, "Not many of you would know this, since you've only been taught Hyrulian history, but the hero went off to be a hero somewhere else, though not much is known about what happened."

"Hold up," cut in Ashei, "you're saying that he ditched his country, his girlfriend, and his fairy-thing, and ran away to be famous somewhere else?"

"Well, essentially, yes."

"Where did he go?" Malon asked, leaning forward as Ashei snorted in disgust. To Zelda's surprise, Malon actually seemed interested in the conversation. Malon was never interested in anything that wasn't boys, horses, or clothing. Letting her gaze sweep the classroom, she discovered that a majority of the class was actually paying attention. The only exceptions were the small cluster of jocks and cheerleaders in the corner.

"Termina," replied Auru simply, and Ashei burst out laughing.

"_Termina?_ You've _got_ to be kidding me! Why'd he go _there_?"

"No one really knows." Auru said with a shrug. "Maybe he was trying to avoid the Princess. Maybe he was banished by the goddesses. Or, maybe Termina was one of his favorite vacations spots." Auru grinned at his own wit, but the class only let out a few half-hearted chuckles.

Rolling his eyes, Mr. Auru said, "Anyway, back to what we were talking about. Now, Shad, when the Hero left, he lost the Triforce of Courage."

"What'd he do, drop it?" snorted Kafei.

Link punched him lightly in the arm. "No, you dolt. You can't take the Triforce out of Hyrule."

"Exactly!" Auru sent Link a praising smile before continuing on. "Now, because the rightful owner had left the sacred lands, the Triforce of Courage was shattered; at least, that's what history tells us. So, the next time Hyrule was threatened, there was no one around who could help out."

The resulting explosions of questions made Auru jerk back with shock.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down, one at a time! Mr. Dotour, yes?"

"Why couldn't the good guys use Power or Wisdom to beat the bad guy? Why does it always have to be Courage?"

"It doesn't. Essentially, all three pieces of the Triforce are equal in strength, just as the goddesses are equal. So, in order to defeat someone who possesses one piece of the Triforce, you would need to have the remaining two working together."

"Oh, so the Princess and the Hero had to be on the same side! That way, Wisdom and Courage could beat Power!" Malon had a ridiculously superior look on her face for having worked that out.

"Hold up, why does the bad guy always have power?" asked Ashei.

"Well, I don't know that he technically has to, but that's just the way History has always worked out."

"So, the Princess could have been the bad guy?" said Zelda in shock.

Auru chuckled lightly and said, "I highly doubt it. Since the Triforce of Wisdom was passed down through the royal family, it was generally protected from the wicked machinations of men."

"But the bad guy could have had courage instead of power, right?" To Zelda's infinite amusement, Link sounded almost worried about this possible scenario. Turning around, Zelda sent him a small smile, which was returned with his trademark wolfish grin, making her stomach flutter. She'd had a crush on Link since before she could remember, but could never find the guts to do anything about it.

"Again, it's not likely. The Triforce of Courage is obtained when one faces their greatest fears for the betterment of another, or sometimes is directly given to a person by the goddesses themselves. Power, likewise, is sometimes given by the goddesses, but otherwise is obtained when one attains enough individual strength to merit the reward; not just physically, but mentally, spiritually, and often magically."

"I don't get it. Why would the goddesses give someone evil some of their strength? Do they want us all to be tortured?" Kafei was always biased against the goddesses, since he himself was of Terminian descent.

Auru sent Kafei a sympathetic look as he seated himself on an old office chair; obviously, he hadn't expected to be speaking for this long.

"Not all people who obtain power are evil, Kafei. Sadly, the old adage is often true; 'Ultimate Power Corrupts Ultimately'. Those who obtain this blessing of the Goddesses are often warped into wanting more and more power, until they become evil. It is a sad fate; however, there have been those who could resist the allure. Unfortunately, little is known about those who obtained the Triforce of Power and didn't attempt to destroy the world."

"So… then Din isn't a bad person?" came a preppy voice from the Cheerleading section of the class. To Zelda's amazement, Mr. Auru had somehow managed to attract the attention of Ruto Domain, the cheerleading captain.

Auru let out a chuckle that seemed both surprised and amused at this sudden turn of events; he'd been trying to get Ruto to pay attention all year.

"No, no, of course not. Din's power is simply the most abused, because most criminals would rather have Power than Wisdom or Courage. In fact… how many people in this room have Din as their patron goddess?"

Unsurprisingly, Darunia Goron, Football team captain and Ruto's boyfriend, raised hand first, and was immediately followed by the remaining members of the football team.

"Yes, typically athletes hold Din as their patron. Undoubtedly the extra power you're blessed with gives you a tremendous advantage on the team."

Darunia grinned proudly as Ruto gave him the omnipresent look of slobbering adoration. Letting her gaze sweep the room, Zelda noticed that Ashei was also a Din, as were Ganondorf and Zant, two thugs in the back of the room who had yet to make a comment on the class's proceedings. Ganon winked at her, causing her to blanch. Ganondorf had had a creepy fetish with her since the sixth grade, and had practically stalked her ever since; it wasn't a crush, so much as a need to torture her. Link turned around and exchanged rather hostile glares.

"Now, since we're on the topic, who's patron is Nayru?"

Zelda shot her hand up proudly, as did Malon and Anju, Kafei's quiet girlfriend who'd been sitting on Malon's right. Shad's hand went up as well, unsurprisingly, as did Ruto's and Vaati's, another thug, though admittedly smaller than his friends, who sat between Ganon and Zant.

Yet again, Ganon tried to make eye contact with Zelda, but she turned around hurriedly. Feeling his eyes boring in to her back, Zelda shifted uncomfortably until she heard Link start to crack his knuckles.

"Ah yes, my brightest students. Nayru gives blessings of increased knowledge, and they are generally very good at giving advice, which is why you should never trust a psychiatrist who's not blessed by the goddess Nayru."

"Hold up, Auru, you need a shrink?" blurted out Kafei.

The whole class exploded in laughter, and Auru, who seemed to realize that he's said perhaps a bit too much, cleared his throat uncomfortably and said, "Yes, well… Farore. Farore's, please raise you hands."

Link's hand shot into the air, followed by Kafei. Zelda waited for more, but after a moment it became apparent that there were only two.

Auru seemed surprised. "So few? Including me, that makes three in total. Hmm…"

Scratching his unruly, graying stubble, Auru pondered this for a moment until Anju raised her hand.

"So," she said, when he'd called on her, "does this mean that only people whose patron goddess is Farore can receive the Triforce of Courage?"

"Precisely." Auru intoned, still looking thoughtfully over the classroom. "Unless it is stolen from one who already possessed it, such as is usually attempted by the Dark One in times past."

"The Dark One is still alive, right?" Zelda asked, feeling a tad apprehensive about the topic. Stories of the Dark One were often told to frighten small children into behaving, and the trepidation tended to linger into adulthood.

"Presumably yes. There is no record of him having perished, or of him having been killed by the Hero or the Princess."

"Well where did the Princess go? There's no Royal Family anymore, so how do we know where to find the one who holds the Triforce of Wisdom if the Dark One ever comes back?" said Malon in frustration.

"We don't know," replied Auru whom, Zelda thought, wasn't exactly striking the correct tone. "The blood line vanished from record during Shad's flood. There have been subtle whispers of women appearing after the flood, bearing the Triforce of Wisdom and helping to save the day, but such stories are warped by time and rumor, and none can be validated."

"So basically what you're saying is, when the Dark One comes back for his malevolent revenge on the world, there will be no way to stop him, since Courage alone can't beat Power, and there's no Wisdom left?"

Kafei, Zelda though, really knew how to sum up.

"No." replied Auru wryly. "When the world has need of her, the Princess will probably come out of obscurity and reveal herself, to both to herself, since she probably doesn't know who she is, and to the world."

Kafei snorted. "Well, I sure feel safe now."

Rolling his eyes, Auru let himself glance at the clock before proceeding.

"Well, since we only have a few minutes left, how about we do a visual reenactment to make sure that you all understand what I'm getting at."

The entire class stiffened visibly. Visual Reenactment? Not good.

"Ok," Auru said, shoving his podium and his chair out of the way, "Mrs. Harkinian, You're a Nayru, correct? You'll do perfectly."

Groaning under her breath, Zelda slowly made her way to the front of the room.

"Now, Zelda, I want you to play the part of the Princess, as she would be in today's society." Zelda felt herself grin in spite of the situation; after all, what girl didn't want to be the princess?

"Ok, Mr. Forrester? I need you to be the Hero." Zelda felt her smile get bigger. Link was her Hero? Hmm... Maybe she'd judged this class a little too harshly. Link exchanged embarrassed grins with her as Kafei let out a catcall.

"Perfect. And now, I need a villain…" Ignoring the Jocks, who'd all suddenly looked away, and looking past Ashei who was waving her hand wildly in the air and gazing at Link with fierce determination, Auru's eyes landed on the three guys sitting in the back who had yet to make a sound.

"Ganondorf. You'll do. Come up front please."

Zelda felt her heart go cold. Locking eyes, Ganon sent her a calculated smirk and a suggestive wink as he lumbered up the isle. Zelda's smile grew crooked and slid off her face. Almost imperceptibly, Link moved in front of her.

Shaking off her dislike, Zelda tried to calm the surge of affection towards Link as she began listening to Mr. Auru's instructions.

"Alright! Zelda, you're the Princess. So, you come stand over here and look, I dunno, wise."

Utterly baffled, Zelda moved to her designated spot behind the podium and tried to adopt a regal expression, which instantly cracked the moment she looked at Malon and started to laugh.

"Remember class, Zelda has the Triforce of Wisdom, whether or not she knows it. Ganondorf, here, will be our villain. So I need you to stand over there." Auru sent Ganon to stand on the other side of the classroom, opposite Zelda.

"Now, Ganondorf, being the bad guy, will have obtained Power. So, Ganondorf, try to look powerful." Ganondorf sent him a cold look, but Auru didn't notice, having already turned his attention to Kafei, whose hand had just shot up in the air.

"I thought you said the bad guy didn't have to have Power!"

"He doesn't. But for this scenario, he will." He sent Kafei a harassed look before turning back to the class.

"Ok. Now, this is the part where the Villain captures the Princess. Ganondorf, come over here and 'capture' Mrs. Harkinian."

With his back to the performers, Auru didn't see the look of fiendish glee that spread over Ganon's face at the order, nor did he see the way he trudged over to her, seized her wrist roughly in his hand, and jerk her painfully towards him. Zelda tried her best not to cry out, but couldn't prevent a small whimper from escaping her mouth, which went unnoticed by Auru or the remainder of the class.

"Alright. Now, Link will play the part of the Hero, who possesses the remaining piece of the Triforce, the Triforce of Courage. It is Link's job to save the Princess, despite how horribly cliché that is, and together they defeat the Villain, or in this case, Ganondorf, and save the day."

Link, however, had not waited for his instructions, and while Mr. Auru was still talking, he seized the Meter stick from off of the dry erase board, strode up to Ganon, and, with all of his might, struck the wrist that was crushing Zelda's arm.

With a deafening crack, the meter stick split in half, the sound just barely covering the curse that emitted from Ganon's mouth as he released her. Then, taking advantage of her newfound freedom, Zelda took the liberty of stomping on Ganon's foot, then, as if possessed by a particularly violent spirit, pulled back her fist and punched him straight in the nose.

The full weight of what she had done hadn't struck Zelda until Ganon had already crashed to the floor, blood spurting from his broken nose. Letting her throbbing hand cover her gapping mouth in horror, Zelda looked at Link, who was staring at Ganon with a look that mirrored her own; the broken meter stick hanging limply from his hand, the other half having landed on Shad's desk.

Auru whirled around so fast he had to steady himself against the misplaced podium before taking in the scene before him; one student down and bleeding, and another clutching a ruined measuring implement in a clenched fist.

Finally, after what seemed like an endless barrage of false starts and choked off statements, Auru managed to get out a strangled, "You broke my meter stick!"

Looking sheepish, Link muttered, "I… guess I got a little carried away with the whole 'save the princess' thing…" Despite their predicament, Zelda couldn't help but notice how cute he looked when he was guilty.

Hastening to Ganon's side, Auru struggled to help the student to his feet. "Zant, Vaati, assist Ganon to the Nurses Office, please. Link, Zelda…" Auru gave them a look full of disappointment and regret, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to send you two down to the principal's office. What in the world possessed you to strike Mr. Dragmire with my meter stick?!"

Link opened his mouth to respond, but Auru cut him off by slapping a note into his hand. "You know what? I don't have time for it. I have a class right now. You'll just have to explain yourselves to the principle."

Zelda didn't have it in her to plead in her defense. Her hand hurt, her wrist was aching, and she'd just punched someone in the face. Truly not one of her better days, she thought as her eyes flooded with unshed tears.

Exiting the room together at the same slow, defeated pace, Zelda heard Malon, Ashei, and Kafei simultaneously begin explaining what had happened behind Mr. Auru's back. Rather than stay to support her case, however, Zelda continued onwards down the hall.

It took her a moment to realize that Link was muttering darkly under his breath. Turning to him, she said, "You didn't have to get involved, you know."

Link sent her a surprised look. "What, and let him twist your arm off? I don't think so. Besides, I was supposed to be the Hero; I was just doing my job."

Zelda couldn't help a grudging smile. "Really, though. Ganon's my problem, and I should be the one to deal with it. It's not your fault that he has a pathetic little abusive crush on me."

"No, but it would have been if I hadn't stepped in. No one should treat you like that Zel, its wrong."

Smiling at the addition of a pet name, Zelda couldn't help but ask, "Since when have I mattered that much to you, Link?"

Link opened his mouth to respond, and then shut it with a snap. Clearing his throat awkwardly, Zelda was surprised to see that he was blushing.

"How's your wrist?" he asked, abruptly changing the subject.

"It's ok. It throbs a bit, but it'll be fine in a day or two…" Zelda trailed off as Link stopped abruptly, took her arm in his hands and slowly began to palpitate the sore area, massaging away a bit of the pain.

There was a moment where she looked up into his eyes, and he looked back down into hers, where she saw reflected in his cerulean orbs something… courageous, confidant, reassuring. Something that made her want to lean forward and…

Link cleared his throat loudly and broke the eye contact by looking away over her shoulder. "So," he said uncomfortably, "are you nervous about our sentence?"

Zelda shrugged nonchalantly and said, "I guess so. I've never really gotten in trouble like this before."

Link chuckled and said, as they continued down the hall, "We'll probably get suspended for the remainder of the day, until Kafei and Malon can convince Auru of our innocence."

"Do you really think they can do that? He seemed pretty pissed that you broke his beloved meter stick."

"Please. If anyone can do it, it's Kafei. He could convince anyone of anything. He once had Romani believing that aliens come down from space every Wednesday night to abduct the nation's cows."

Zelda laughed, until she realized that they had stopped in front of the principal's office.

With a deep breath, Link said, "Ok. Let's go."

"Wait!" Zelda blurted before his hand touched the knob.

"Yeah?" he replied, looking not at all worried about what was about to happen.

"I-I… I just wanted to say thanks. You know, for 'getting carried away'. It was really sweet."

Link shrugged but his cheeks turned pink. "Like I said before Zel, it's no big deal."

Before he could turn away, however, Zelda stepped forward wrapped her arms around his neck, and gave him a brief peck on the cheek.

"Thank you." She whispered again.

Stepping away, she said, in an attempt to cover up her blushing, "So… My parents are going to be ticked. Good thing they're out of town."

Link sighed and said, "Mine are at work until late tonight. I'm gonna be so bored until school gets out."

"Me too." Zelda mumbled.

"Um… Do you wanna… come over?" Zelda sent him a look. "T-to study, of course. For Mr. Auru's test. The whole 'Hero, Princess' thing, I mean."

"Sounds great," she said, cutting in with a grin as she reached for the doorknob. "Let's just hope we don't get carried away again."

**Ok, there ya go. I know the ending could have been better, but I actually had a great deal of fun writing this. However, that was a while ago, actually before I played Phantom Hourglass, so there's a bit of a descrepancy depending on which timeline theory you believe in. I enjoy the split timeline theory myself, so in my mind this makes sense. **

**Anyway, hope ya liked it. And...uh... review? please?  
**


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